Dessert Sauces
The dessert sauce may be thought of as a thick drink on a plate. It brings most of the color to a plate. A red sauce is used for eye appeal, and most portions should be limited to 1 to 1 1/2 ounces. There should be enough sauce for every bite of the dessert.
There are 10 different types of sauces used for plated desserts:
Keys to Choosing Sauces-
Sauces should complement the main item they are served with, but there may be contrasting colors, textures, and flavors. For instance, never use a cream sauce with a cream dessert.
Three things to check for:
1) consistency- see how it spreads on the plate.
2) how smooth is it- it should look like a mirror.
3) Does it cling to the main item?
How can a sauce be put on a plate?-
1) free flow-ladle it out, let it flow.
2) using a shallow container or cutter, pour sauce into it and remove it.
3) piping borders and fills- use a squirt bottle and a piping bag for speed and accuracy.
5 things to pipe-
1) ganache
2) chocolate
3) thickened sauce (referred to in this text as piping gel in the form used for borders)
4) actual piping gel- a clear ready-made gel which can be tinted
5) seedless jam
Orange Sauce
This is an example of a cooked fruit sauce, which may be made with either cornstarch or arrowroot. Arrowroot will not mask the flavor of the juice being thickened and will give more shine and luster to the sauce.
Equipment:
1) stainless steel saucepan
2) chinoise
3) stainless steel bowl
4) whip
Ingredients: Yield: 1 lb 7 oz
1) orange juice 1 lb 3 oz
2) cornstarch or arrowroot 1/2 oz
3) granulated sugar 1 1/2 oz
4) Grand Marnier 2 oz
Method of Preparation:
1) Mix some of the sugar and the cornstarch or arrowroot in a dry bowl. Add some of the orange juice to make a slurry.
2) Boil the remaining juice and then thicken with the slurry, moistening the slurry with only a small amount of hot liquid so the sauce will come back to the boil quicker.
3) Cook briefly to eliminate the starch taste.
4) Strain the sauce back into the cleaned bowl and season with sugar if needed and any other flavoring as desired.
Time Management:
assemble equipment and ingredients 5 min
boil sauce and thicken 5 min
cleanup and store 5 min
total: 15 min
Vanilla Sauce
Also known as Creme Anglaise, this custard sauce is the perfect foil for a tart fruit dessert.
Equipment:
1) baker's scale and weights
2) liquid measuring utensils
3) whip
4) stainless steel spoon
5) chinoise
6) stainless steel bowl
7) ice bath
Ingredients: Yield: 1 lb 10 oz
1) whole milk 8 oz
2) heavy cream 8 oz
3) granulated sugar 4 oz
4) salt pinch
5) egg yolk 6 each or 4.5 oz
6) vanilla to taste
Method of Preparation:
1) Put the milk, heavy cream, sugar and salt in the saucepan and bring to a boil.
2) Whip the yolks together in the bowl.
3) Temper the yolks with some of the hot milk mixture, pour everything into the saucepan and cook till the sauce coats the spoon.
4) Strain through the chinoise into the ice bath.
5) Add vanilla to taste when cold. Hold for use.
Time Management:
gather equipment and ingredients 5 min
boil milk mixture, separate eggs 6 min
make sauce 4 min
store and cleanup 10 min
total: 25 min
Chocolate Sauce
Equipment:
1) baker's scale and weights
2) stainless steel saucepan
3) stainless steel bowl
4) whip
5) slicer knife
Ingredients: Yield: 2 lb 7 1/2 oz
1) granulated sugar 13 oz
2) corn syrup 5 oz
3) water 8 oz
4) grated orange rind 1/2 orange
5) bittersweet chocolate 4 1/2 oz
6) semisweet chocolate 8 oz
Method of Preparation:
1) Combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and orange rind in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute.
2) Pour over the finely chopped chocolates in the bowl and stir till melted. Cool for later use.
Time Management:
assemble equipment and ingredients 5 min
chop chocolate 3 min
combine liquid ingredients and boil 7min
grate orange 30 sec
mix sauce 2 min
cleanup and store 5 min
total: 22 min+
Sabayon Sauce
Equipment:
1) baker's scale and weights
2) liquid measuring utensils
3) double boiler setup
4) whip
5) stainless steel bowl
Ingredients: Yield: 23 oz
1) egg yolks 9 oz
2) sugar 2 oz
3) Marsala wine 9 oz
Method of Preparation:
1) Whip the egg yolks and the sugar over hot water in the double boiler to at least 1400, or until the mixture becomes thick and fluffy.
2) Add the wine slowly, beating all the while, and using the whip to keep the sides of the bowl clean.
3) When all the wine is absorbed and the mixture spins a thick ribbon, it is ready for use. This sauce should be made with one continuous movement of the whipping arm.
Time Management:
assemble equipment and ingredients 5 min
separate eggs 2 min
prepare sauce 5 min
cleanup and store 5 min
total: 17 min
Raspberry Sauce
Raspberry sauce has been used almost to the point of being a culinary cliche, but it remains a staple preparation in the pastry shop. The use of instant starches will give a sauce with a fresh flavor and bright color. Simply pureeing the raspberries will make a coulis. Thickening the coulis will give the sauce some body and texture.
Equipment:
1) food processor
2) fine mesh strainer
3) plastic scraper
4) stainless bowl
5) whip
Ingredients: Yield: varies
1) Fresh raspberries (or prepared puree) as needed
2) granulated sugar to taste as needed
3) Instant starch as needed
4) lemon extract to taste as needed
5) lemon juice to taste as needed
6) kirsch to taste as needed
Method of preparation:
1) Whiz the raspberries through the food processor using the steel blade.
2) Pour the puree into the sieve and force through with plastic scraper.
3) Taste the resulting seed-free puree and determine its sweetness and tartness.
4) Determine how much you want to stretch the puree with water. 30% might be a good starting point.
5) Mix approximately equal amounts of instant starch and granulated sugar and whisk into the puree till it begins to bind.
6) Season to taste with the lemon juice, lemon extract and kirsch and granulated sugar.
7) Re-strain to get out any miscellaneous seeds and starch lumps.
Time Management:
gather equipment and ingredients 5min
puree and sieve raspberries 10 min
season and store 5 min
cleanup 10 min
total 30 min
Special Considerations: The sauce should only be prepared in quantities that will be used in a couple of days, or it should be frozen. It should be tasted before each use and it's consistency adjusted if needed. Some of the sauce may be further thickened to serve as a sort of piping gel to separate components on a plate.